Workshop Leaders
Below you will find the profile of each of our experienced Workshop Leaders and the Workshops they offer. Each is also available for 1-2-1 coaching sessions and to provide training to your departmental teams...
| Workshop Leader:
Mark McGinn IoSMM
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| EXPERIENCE |
| Mark has over twenty years Sales experience in the growth of b2b business and in the development and implementation of strategy to deliver bottom line growth, both UK and Global. He is a confident leader and strategic thinker who possess a high level of enthusiasm, energy, ambition and passion for sales and people development. |
| QUALIFICATION / AWARDS |
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-Insititute of Sales & Marketing Management -Sales Training & Coach qualified -Train the Trainer -Listed on Who's Who 2009 Business Directory as a Director of one of Britain's fastest growing companies |
| WORKSHOP |
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-Sales Management for Growth - Effective Selling -Key Account Management -Value Based Sales -People Management & Development |
| FAVOURITE BOOK |
| --- Good to Great - Jim Collins |
| BEST ADVICE TO SMALL BUSINESS |
| --- Define your goals, action them and monitor them! |
| FAVOURITE QUOTE |
"Become a student of change. It is the only thing that will remain constant."Anthony J. D'Angelo |
| TESTIMONIALS |
"Marks management coaching style and enthusiasm is infectious. You feel part of the team and want to perform."Client Feedback |
| Workshop Leader:
Traci Williams CIMA
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| EXPERIENCE |
| I have worked and trained as an Accountant for 16 years and have always used Excel as part of each role I have had. I now use this experience to help individual organisations to use Excel more efficiently. This usually consists of my revising the existing processes and spreadsheets, and providing training to enable them to continue the process In House. For one client, I was able to reduce their Month end processing time from 4 days to 1 day. |
| QUALIFICATION / AWARDS |
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-AAT 1997 -CIMA 2007 |
| WORKSHOPS |
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-Financial Control for Busy Business Owners -Easy Excel Tricks to Save you Days |
| FAVOURITE BOOK |
| --- Of Mice & Men - John Steinbeck |
| BEST ADVICE TO SMALL BUSINESS |
| --- Don’t get complacent when things are going well, and do at least one thing every day to create ‘Opportunities’. |
| FAVOURITE QUOTE |
"It's nice to be important, but it's more important to be nice."Anon |
| TESTIMONIALS |
"Only as a result of knowing my current position, am I able to set goals for Growth. This was impossible in the days before excelace, but now I can plan for the future"Amanda Daniels - Koogar "I’ve been using the spreadsheet for 3 weeks, its amazing! Thank you very much. Life is sooooooooooooooooooooooo much easier."Jason Stephanides - On Site Computer Solutions "I went from a one man band to a team of 5, so up to date financial data was essential - I could not have attempted this growth if I had not had the systems Excel Ace put in for me. I would not have anywhere near as much financial control if it weren’t for Excel Ace"Elaine Courtney - Courtney Consultancy |
| Workshop Leader:
Dr Steve Wooding
Ph.D BSc |
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| EXPERIENCE |
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Steve is a consultant, trainer and trouble shooter who specialises in workplace psychology, personal development and communication issues. He’s the director of ice&lemon ltd, a personal and professional development company.
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| QUALIFICATION / AWARDS |
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-Ph.D. in Computational Materials Science, Liverpool University (1994) -B.Sc. in Physics with Materials Science (1st class joint honours) -Master Practitioner NLP & Accredited Hypnotherapist (2002) -Chartered Physicist (CPhys) (1996) & Member of the Institute of Physics (MInstP) -Member of the Association of Neuro-Linguistic Programming (MANLP) (2002) |
| WORKSHOPS |
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-Advanced Communication Skills -Beating Stress, Creating Calm -From Conflict to Agreement -Detecting Deception |
| FAVOURITE BOOK |
| 59 Seconds - Prof. Richard Wiseman |
| BEST ADVICE TO SMALL BUSINESS |
| There are two things that are fundamental to the success of any endeavour – PASSION and PLANNING – make sure you have plenty of both! |
| FAVOURITE QUOTE |
"You are not what you think you are, but what you think, you are."Dr Steve Wooding |
| TESTIMONIALS |
| “Steve delivers value within minutes of first hearing him speak. He teaches you so much you didn't know you didn't know. But what makes it so worthwhile is that you can start applying his learning immediately with great results” Ian Denny, SmartICT “I can’t thank you enough for the help, advice and education that you gave me in your ‘Taxi..!’ Workshop… I have no hesitation in recommending you to anybody who needs help with presentation skills or those who experience difficulty in dealing with others.” Jayne Smith, Head of Operations, Document Direct “A superb day. Exceeded my expectations. A very clear and practical presentation of some complex theory. I used Steve's techniques immediately after the training day in an interview, and was able to form an objective opinion of the candidate faster, and I'm sure more accurately, than I've ever done before.” Stuart Kellner, Managing Director, Dufton-Kellner Ltd |
| Senior Business Consultant:
Ken Smith
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| EXPERIENCE |
| 25 Years spent in industry working across a wide range of markets, but with particular expertise in Consumer Product businesses. At MD level was particularly effective in growing businesses both in revenue and profitability. Now assisting a wide range of clients to grow their businesses in a sustainable, strategic and profitable way. |
| QUALIFICATION / AWARDS |
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-I.O.D. Diploma in Company Direction |
| WORKSHOPS |
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-Growing Your Business.......Effectively! -Revitalising Your Product Range.......and Your Profits! |
| FAVOURITE BOOK |
| --- The Richer Way - Julian Richer |
| BEST ADVICE TO SMALL BUSINESS |
| --- Don’t try to do everything yourself. Identify what you are good at personally and as soon as you can delegate other things to people better able to do them than you are. Don’t be afraid to ask for help! |
| FAVOURITE QUOTE |
"However beautiful the strategy, you should occasionally look at the results."Winston Churchill |
| TESTIMONIALS |
"Ken has helped me make decisions which have been invaluable to the future of the business."Rachael Joseph - Derwen Garden Centre "Ken has played the key role in growing this business fourfold in the past 5 yrs "Paolo Molteni - Tenax SpA "We found Ken to be particularly helpful and proactive and his input to the project certainly added value" Graham Davies - Martin Kaye |
| Workshop Leader:
Brenda Holding BA (Hons)
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| EXPERIENCE |
| L.C .College Advice, guidance workshops (Careers education, Assertiveness etc). Training & workshops for staff and students Therapy counselling. Private one to one. Counselling, Counselling supervision, Stress management (Hypnotherapy – Emotional freedom Technique) W/shops mainly in stress management. Individual places booked on to workshop. Presently marketing corporate work. |
| QUALIFICATION / AWARDS |
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-BA (Hons.) Applied Community Studies -Advanced Diploma in Therapeutic Counselling/Diploma in Casework Supervision -Advanced Stress Consultant/Stress in the Workplace -Advanced Master Diploma in Clinical Hypnosis |
| WORKSHOPS |
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-Stress Management for Managers -Stress Management for Employees |
| FAVOURITE BOOK |
| --- Opening the cage of pain with EFT - Rue Anne Hass |
| BEST ADVICE TO SMALL BUSINESS |
| --- Never let an opportunity pass you by. If you are not confident in meeting the requirements, work out why and work on the problem. Don’t walk away. |
| FAVOURITE QUOTE |
"If your success is not on your own terms, if it looks good to the world, but does not feel good in your heart, it is not success at all."Anna Quindlen |
| TESTIMONIALS |
"Thank you for an engaging and enlightening session. I feel so much more confident now that I know what has been holding me back."Elaine Cooper "Excellent, pacing, awareness and understanding of individual issues. Thank You."Brian Nicholas |
| Workshop Leader:
Peter Carter BA (Hons)
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| EXPERIENCE |
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I have had 25 years sales / sales management / sales director experience delivering IT solutions to business needs. I have started companies and grown them introducing sales and marketing strategies in many markets. I have had my own management consultancy business for 7 years delivering training and advice to many different sectors, helping organisations grow whilst saving hundreds of thousands of pounds |
| QUALIFICATION / AWARDS |
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-BA Hons. Business Studies -BPR Consultant . Qualification from Dutch market leader -Business Workflow consultant - IBM -Sales Management courses (many) -Accredited Accelerated Learning Coach |
| WORKSHOPS |
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-Sales Strategies for Growth -Business Process Mapping -The Power of Business Process Re-engineering and Lean |
| FAVOURITE BOOK |
| -Birdsong, Sebastian Foulkes….. not helpful to SME’s but a great read! |
| BEST ADVICE TO SMALL BUSINESS |
| Clearly define your business goals! |
| FAVOURITE QUOTE |
"If you always do what you always did, you’ll always get what you always got."Anon |
| TESTIMONIALS |
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“Peter is one of the best process engineers that I know. Excellent attention to detail. Very friendly and conscientious. I highly recommend him.” "Peter has vast experience of business processes which he leverages and passes on with simple step by step training and follow up coaching." "He is both professional and realistic whilst adding some fun into the mix."
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| Workshop Leader:
Joe Thwaites BA (Hons)
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| EXPERIENCE |
| Joe is |
| QUALIFICATION / AWARDS |
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| WORKSHOPS |
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| FAVOURITE BOOK |
| --- |
| BEST ADVICE TO SMALL BUSINESS |
| --- |
| FAVOURITE QUOTE |
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| TESTIMONIALS |
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| Workshop Leader:
David Metcalfe BA (Hons)
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| EXPERIENCE |
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Despite his youthful appearance, David has a wealth of experience in all areas of Online Marketing, Web Design and Creative Design. His ever growing reputation has lead him to work with some of Merseysides best restaurants as well as RBS, Russian Standard Vodka, Northwest Vision & Media, Top Marques Monaco, the DVD launch of Avatar, the Cannes Film Festival for a third year running and many more high profile clients. From Design, to Build to Getting it seen, David has a strong track record of excellent customer service. |
| QUALIFICATION / AWARDS |
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-BA (Hons.) |
| WORKSHOPS |
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-Developing a Business Online -An Introduction to Online Marketing -Making Twitter work for your Business |
| FAVOURITE BOOK |
| Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? |
| BEST ADVICE TO SMALL BUSINESS |
| Return to your business plan regularly, alter it as your business develops - it is the foundation upon which success is built. |
| FAVOURITE QUOTE |
"Return to your business plan regularly, alter it as your business develops - it is the foundation upon which success is built."David Metcalfe |
| Workshop Leader:
David Lampkin BA (Hons)
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| EXPERIENCE |
| Employed at Inventive Leisure, who own the Revolution vodka bars, as their T&D Manager. Before that, was Recruitment & Training Manager at Georgica Group which owns Megabowl, Allied Leisure and Rileys. Within Revolution, was responsible for all T&D for 2,000 people and established the Revolution Academy. All of which helped the company gain 2 star accreditation and 34th best company to work in the UK in The Times Best Companies survey. |
| QUALIFICATION / AWARDS |
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-Hons Degree in Business Studies via John Moores University -CIPD qualified -Stonebow Group Training Certificate -CIEH accredited trainer |
| WORKSHOPS |
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-Franklin Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Effective People -Dale Carnegie’s How to Win Friends & Influence People -Dale Carnegie’s High Impact Presentations |
| FAVOURITE BOOK |
| Stephen Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Effective People |
| BEST ADVICE TO SMALL BUSINESS |
| Be proactive. Seek out new clients, don’t expect others to do it for you and remember; people don’t always have your highest priorities as theirs. |
| FAVOURITE QUOTE |
"---."---- |
| TESTIMONIALS |
"Training course was presented in an easier understandable way.""Excellent course, explained clearly and easily.""Trainer was brilliant, highly recommended." |
| Workshop Leader:
Samantha McCoy MA, DiPm MCIM
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| EXPERIENCE |
| Samantha has been advising businesses for over 9 years across the Northwest and beyond. Her emphasis is on developing growth strategies with companies and advising on the implementation of those strategies to help increase the chances of success. Working as an advisor to some governmental business support departments in both England and Wales, a business advisor under the Young enterprise scheme and a Governor of one of the largest colleges in the North West, Samantha is a highly respected marketer. |
| QUALIFICATION / AWARDS |
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-MA, DiPm MCIM |
| WORKSHOPS |
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- The 7 P's of Marketing - Branding: Your Business and Your Products - The Psychology of the Customer |
| FAVOURITE BOOK |
| --- Life of Pi - Yann Martel |
| BEST ADVICE TO SMALL BUSINESS |
| --- It's important to create a marketing strategy, but it is more important to monitor it and adjust where necessary. It is a continuous process that requires commitment from all involved. |
| FAVOURITE QUOTE |
"I have not failed. I have just found 10,000 ways that won't work."Thomas Edison |
| Workshop Leader:
Gareth Pickering BA (Hons)
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| EXPERIENCE |
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Gareth Pickering has over thirteen years of experience in the worlds of Market Research and online Publishing, web design and search engine optimisation. A graduate in Political History and Economics from London University Gareth’s started professional life with ITN during the 1997 landslide general election, working on the development and launch of ITN’s flagship election website. Headhunted by leading London based market research company, MORI. Gareth worked with many of the UK’s largest blue chips and FTSE 100 companies developing their online and search strategy and corporate image and developing online marketing strategies. Furthering his career he joined the online division of publishing giant, Reed Elsevier in 2000 where he rose to the position of Development Director. Gareth has worked on the implementation and development of many online and print propositions in vertical markets as diverse as agriculture, property and chemicals. He was key in developing and managing revenue migration from print to the online portfolio of websites. From December 2007 to 2010 Gareth was the Development Director and latterly Finance Director of the design and marketing agency Creative Liverpool. Gareth was instrumental in setting up and establishing Liverpool based Search Engine Optimisation Company CL5 and was instrumental in taking CL5 from conception to launch and winning a £50,000 start up Grant from the newly created Regional Attraction Fund. Gareth set up Marsden Training in April 2010 with the intention of establishing a leading cost effective freelance marketing, SEO consultancy and SEO training provider. He is a recognised figure on the Digital scene. He sits on the North West Vision and Media Digital Sector steering committee, advising the organisation on all areas of the North West online and digital scene which in turn reports into Government committees. In addition to this he is also on the board of the Liverpool Commercial District Partnership providing strategic online advice at a critical time as the partnerships undergoes transition to BID status. An experienced marketing professional and Google Adword Professional Gareth has a deep understanding of all areas of marketing, brand positing and search. |
| QUALIFICATION / AWARDS |
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-BA/BSc Hons. Political History and Economics |
| WORKSHOPS |
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-Developing a Business Online -An Introduction to Online Marketing -Making Twitter work for your Business |
| FAVOURITE BOOK |
| ---The God Delusion – Richard Dawkins |
| BEST ADVICE TO SMALL BUSINESS |
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---Find the funding – its out there! ---Surround yourself with the best in the business. ---Network hard. |
| FAVOURITE QUOTE |
"Pray to god there's intelligent life somewhere up in space cos there's bugger all down here on earth."Monty Python - The Meaning of Life |
| TESTIMONIALS |
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Karen Poynor, onemellingroad.co.uk Mike Stott, Dometus Architects Tom Fletcher, Liverpool John Moores
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| Senior Business Consultant:
Alex McElhoney BA (Hons)
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| EXPERIENCE |
| Alex is the owner of Acorn Business Performance and has a background in Product Development, Sales & Marketing and Management in the Manufacturing, Retail, Advertising and Training Sectors. He doesn't run any interactive workshops, preferring to use his strengths on a one-to-one or company per company basis. Please have a look at Our Services page for further information. More can be found on Alex by going to the About Us page. |
| QUALIFICATION / AWARDS |
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-BA (Hons.) -Train the Trainer (Jigsaw Training) -Fire Safety Awareness & Fire Extinguisher Training -50m Backstroke Swimming Award |
| SERVICES |
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-Outsourced Sales -Sales Strategy & Support -Marketing Strategy & Support -Meeting Facilitation -Business Reviews/Strategy -Customer Experience Audits |
| FAVOURITE BOOK |
| --- The Hound of the Baskervilles - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle |
| BEST ADVICE TO SMALL BUSINESS |
| --- No one can do everything so don't waste valuable time and energy trying. Get a trusted advisor/mentor or build a skilled team whom you can place trust into. |
| FAVOURITE QUOTE |
"I do not think much of a man who is not wiser today than he was yesterday."Abraham Lincoln |
| TESTIMONIALS |
"Alex is an extremely capable business consultant who knows how to get the the hub of an issue. Alex's integrity is of the highest standard whilst his approach is highly personable with all people who engage with him.."Samantha McCoy: Just4ThePlanet - May 7th 2010 "You're nearly as complete a professional as one can be at a relatively young age too. What you may not know is probably not worth knowing."Jim Petafi: Business & Life Coach - May 21st 2010 |
| Workshop Leader:
Julie Edgerley BA (Hons)
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| EXPERIENCE |
| Julia has over 16 years experience in the world of HR and has successfully ran her own consultancy for the last 3 years. |
| QUALIFICATION / AWARDS |
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| WORKSHOPS |
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-HR 1 -HR 2 -HR 3 |
| FAVOURITE BOOK |
| Book Title |
| BEST ADVICE TO SMALL BUSINESS |
| Quote |
| FAVOURITE QUOTE |
"---."---- |
| TESTIMONIALS |
"Training |
